Monday, February 9, 2009

Skating

I took a few figure skating lessons when I was a kid but never got very far. It cost too much, it was too far away from home...but I always wished I could have kept skating. When my daughter was little I immediately thought that MY daughter was going to have the chance to skate that I did not have. Then I had another thought which I think was very insightful and profound and may even possibly have come from God. “Self,” my thought said.. “If you feel like you missed out on skating, the person who needs skating lessons is not your daughter” I signed myself up for skating lessons at the ripe old age of 37.

Sarah my daughter eventually did take to skating herself, but it was on her own and no pressure from me. Because I was on the ice myself, I did not need to use her to complete some unfulfilled desires of my own.

I’m not very good. I was never graceful or athletic. I never enjoyed any kind of exercise and always struggled with my weight. But I love to skate. I feel graceful and whether I actually am or not is not important.

It’s good for me not to be good at skating…because I’m a person that is good at most things I do. It’s been very good for me to learn that you can enjoy doing something that you aren’t very good at.

It’s frustrating sometimes but you deal with it. It’s a good way for me to get away from whatever I’m worrying about. When you skate, you have 50 million things to think about –Is my head facing the right way? Are my buttocks tightened? Am I on the middle of the ball of my foot? Are my shoulders relaxed and stretched out? Is my toe pointed? There just is no room for all of that to be worried about paying the bills, why won’t more parents help with the youth and will my son get a job when he graduates….

I’m with young people when I skate and I like young people. They inspire me. I meet people outside of the church when I skate, which is very difficult to do as a pastor in a small town.

2 comments:

Both you and your daughter are luck! I commend your Self on its wisdom and you upon the good sense to listen to it. For years my wife Lisa was after me to become a professor. As soon as she unexpectedly got a teaching gig, I stopped hearing about it.

I would pay good money to see a figure skatin' pastor land a double axel in an alb - even more with cope and mitre!